Tuesday 8 April 2014

Pistorius Trial: Witness Timelines 6 (Pistorius)

Pistorius has now given his own testimony on the events of that night.

He does not give any specific times for the events, but here is their order as he describes them.  Here is a summary of his statements on this subject.

When he and Reeva went to bed, he locked the bedroom door and readied the cricket bat near the case of sunglasses and his gun near his bed.

He went to bed on the left-hand side, which was unusual for him but he had a shoulder injury.

He left the balcony door open and the fans running on it.  He did not mean to leave them in this position all night, but Reeva said she would bring in the fans and close and lock the door, and he fell asleep.  It was between 9 and 10pm.

At some point he woke up and saw that the balcony doors were still open and the fans still running.  Reeva asked him if he couldn't sleep.

He went to the balcony, got the fans, closed and locked the sliding door, probably drew the blinds (not sure) but did draw the curtains.  They are made of blackout material.  It was pitch dark with only the light from the LED amplifier visible.

Heard the sound of a window opening in the bathroom.  Was terrified of seeing people suddenly burst into the bedroom from the passage leading to the bathroom.

Hurried on his stumps in the pitch darkness, feeling his way to the bed, took his gun.

Whispered to Reeva to get down and phone police.

Then rushed down the passage to the bathroom on his stumps screaming at the intruders to get out, screaming to Reeva to get to safety.

Heard the toilet door slam.  Was now certain there were intruders.

Moved forward to bathroom entrance, shuffled along left-hand wall on the tiles, pointing gun in front of him.  No light, but saw that window was open. Wondered if they had entered using ladders.

Suddenly started screaming for Reeva to call police.  Felt terrified to see someone come out of toilet or through window and attack him.  Suddenly started shooting through door.

Walked back to bedroom holding gun, still shouting and shouting for Reeva.  Spoke to her in room.  Realized there was never any answer.  Felt for her in bed, then on the floor, then behind the curtains.  Always pointing gun towards corridor to bathroom.  "There was not much light but I could make out the passage".  There was a LED from the amplifier, it must have shed a tiny bit of light.

Only then began to realize that it might have been her in the toilet.  Went back to bathroom, tried to open toilet door, couldn't.  Went back to bedroom, opened curtains and doors, ran onto balcony and shouted for help.

Put on prosthetics.  Went back to bathroom, tried to kick door with them but didn't get anywhere.  Does not remember switching on light but remembers that at this point, light was on. Went back to bedroom and got cricket bat, hit door with it three times.  The first time it hit the frame.  He felt the shock of the bat in his hands.  The second time it made a little hole.  At that point he just wanted to see into the toilet to see if it was Reeva.  The third blow took down a whole panel.  He wrenched it out of the door and threw it back into the bathroom.  He leaned over the horizontal partition in the middle of the door and felt for the key.  It wasn't in the door.  He saw it on the floor, was able to lean through and grab it, unlocked the door and went in.  He stayed there crying over Reeva for "he doesn't know how long".  According to this testimony, the cricket bat blows would have occurred at 3:17am and the call to Stander at 3:19:03, so it would not have been more than a couple of minutes.  He placed the call to Netcare (for an ambulance) at 3:20:05.  At 3:21:33 he phoned security, a call lasting 9 seconds.  He does not recall this but sees it on the cell phone record.

He then opened 1/2 of the bedroom door (unlocked it), ran downstairs, opened the front door, ran back up and "ran into" the other 1/2 of the bedroom door to make a wider passage, it didn't give, he unlatched the bottom latch (there's also a top latch) but then the door opened.

CONTRADICTIONS WITH WITNESS TESTIMONY:
Pistorius describes the shouts and screams between the two sets of bangs as all coming from him.  His description does not resemble the panicked, continuous and intensifying screaming of a woman described by witnesses.

Pistorius describes the shots (first set of bangs) and subsequent activity as taking place in the darkness.  He does not say at what time he turned the lights on.  But Anette Stipp saw light in the bathroom at the time of the first set of bangs (3am) and continuously through to the second set of bangs (3:17am).

Pistorius states that he shouted from the balcony for help between the two sets of bangs.  This contradicts Johan Stipp's testimony of hearing the shouts after the second set of bangs, but matches Burger and Johnson's testimony; they both mention the cry of "help, help, help" shortly before the set of bangs at 3:17am.

Pistorius says the first set of bangs was made by the gunshots, but there were four gunshots and the Stipps heard only three bangs in the first set: in particular, Anette Stipp was lying awake and was certain that she did not miss any previous bang in her sleep.

Pistorius says that the second set of bangs was made by him hitting the door 3 times with the cricket bat, but Burger and van der Merwe heard four shots, Johnson "five or six".  The Stipps heard "three" and "two or three" but were talking to each other and into the phone at the time.  These witnesses also all agree that the shots were very close together, in rapid succession.  Michell Burger, the most precise of the witnesses in terms of description of the shots, describes one, then a tiny pause, then three extremely fast.  Charl Johnson as well as other witnesses stresses the impossibility of banging 3 times with a cricket bat so fast.


Saturday 5 April 2014

Pistorius Trial: Witness Timelines (Prosecution summary)

The prosecution has closed its case in the Oscar Pistorius trial.  No more witnesses will be called for the prosecution.

Curiously, they have not yet made a complete statement of their case. In the US, a full description of the way events occurred would probably have been given at the opening of the trial, followed by witness depositions confirming the various points.  However, in the Pistorius trial, it feels like prosecutor Gerrie Nel is holding his cards close to his chest, waiting for the closing arguments.

Pistorius defense lawyer Barry Roux made certain observations about the state's case to which Prosecutor Nel objected.  With seeming reluctance, he said that it was not the state's case that Pistorius had been wearing his prosthetic legs during the shooting, and that it was the state's case that Reeva Steenkamp was killed by a series of four shots fired at 3:17am.  He did not let slip any hint of the state's case concerning the location in time of the cricket bat blows against the door, or volunteer any information about his interpretation of the three bangs heard by some witnesses at 3:00 or 3:02am.  So at this point we don't know the state's contentions with respect to these events.

Another important missing piece of the puzzle is the testimony of several more of Pistorius' neighbors.  Estelle van der Merwe's husband has not testified. Of principal importance are the Nhlengethwas, a couple living to the house just to the left of Pistorius'.  This was the house in which neighbor Anette Stipp from across the green (facing the two houses) saw all the lights on in the top story at 3:02am.  Security guard Pieter Baba testified that he received a call from Mr. Nhlengethwa at 3:16am, just before the call from Mr. Stipp.  These witnesses were not called by the prosecution, nor was Pistorius' gardener, who lived on his property, nor his neighbors to the right, nor some other, farther neighbors who appear on the full witness list of 107 people.  At least some of them will probably appear for the defense.

Before that happens, let's make a comparative analysis of the timeline statements made by the five neighbors who testified for the prosecution.

1:56am: Estelle van der Merwe heard sounds of loud arguing.  Covered her head with a pillow. Sounds continued for an hour.  Mainly heard one voice, a woman's voice. 

3:02am (but could be about 3 minutes earlier if clock is really fast): Stipps (72 meters away) hear three loud bangs that they take for gunshots.

Moments later (shortly after 3:00am) loud and continuous sounds of a woman's terrified screaming are heard by the Stipps, by Michell Burger and Charl Johnson (177 meters away).
This continued for several minutes, and the Stipps and Burger and Johnson also heard a man's voice shouting.
Burger and Johnson describe screams as "increasingly terrified, reaching a climax".
Anette Stipp thought they were "coming closer".
All say they will never forget the terrible screams.
Burger and Johnson heard the man shout "help, help, help".

3:15:51: Stipp calls Silver Woods security, 16 second call, rings but is not answered.  Roux and Oldwage dispute this, saying "you did get through".  Stipp says no, he would not have called the other numbers if he had. Anette Stipp recalls her husband saying no one answered.  Stipp unsuccessfully calls 10111 (police).

3:16am: Johnson calls wrong security number, then runs back out to balcony.

3:16am: Mr. Nhlengethwa calls Silver Woods security (Pieter Baba).

3:16-3:17am: Stipp gets through to Silver Woods security (Pieter Baba). 

3:17am: Gunshots.
Van der Merwe heard "four shots in quick succession" but gave the time as around or after 3am.
Burger heard four shots with a short pause after the first one and three in quick succession.
Johnson heard "a volley of shots, five or six shots".
Anette Stipp (on the threshold between balcony and bedroom) heard three shots in quick succession.
Johan Stipp (on the phone) heard "two or three shots".

3:17am: The Stipps, Burger and Johnson all stated that the screaming stopped after the last shot or faded away with the last shot.
Johan Stipp heard the man's voice shout "help, help, help" after the shots.

3:19:50: Pistorius called Mr. Stander.

3:21:33: Pistorius called security guard Pieter Baba (only cried, didn't speak).


SUMMARY:  Every interpretation seems to contradict some pieces of the testimony, although the testimonies together do not contradict each other very much. One clear contradiction is that Burger and Johnson placed the man's cry of "help, help, help" before the shots and Johan Stipp placed the cries after the shots. Burger's memory of this seems very clear.  She connects this with her belief that a couple was being attacked, a man shot in front of his wife. Knowing later that it was Pistorius who killed Reeva, she wonders if the cries of "help" might have been made in mockery. 

The quarrel from 2am to 3am is testified to only by van der Merwe.
The first set of three bangs is testified to only by the Stipps.
The lights on/open window in the bathroom is testified to only by the Stipps.
The dimmer light in the toilet window is testified to only by Anette Stipp.

Van der Merwe identified four bangs, although she doesn't know the exact time. She stated that they were followed by silence, then crying (not screams). 

Four witnesses concur on several minutes of increasing screaming by a woman's voice with a man's voice also heard (the fifth, van der Merwe, heard sounds of arguing), followed by a volley of shots.

It is common cause (i.e. accepted by both sides) that there were exactly four shots made at a single time.

The defense appears to present the following timeline: The shots occurred at 3am; Pistorius' home was in pitch darkness at the time, the Stipps heard only three because they were awoken from sleep; all the sounds of screaming, shouting and crying were made by Pistorius in the minutes after the shooting as he called Reeva, couldn't find her, realized what had happened, put on his legs and got his cricket bat. The bangs at 3:17am were made by the cricket bat hitting the bathroom door as he beat it down.

Accepting this scenario would  require believing that swinging a cricket bat could make sounds in extremely quick succession (described as "bangbangbang").  This was explicitly contradicted by some witnesses, particularly Johnson who said "there would be no time to reload the bat". It would require believing that Pistorius screams like a woman, and that all witnesses who thought they heard simultaneous female and male voices are wrong. It would require belief that Burger and Johnson at 177 meters heard a cricket bat did not hear earlier gunshots.  It would contradict certain parts of the testimony of the Stipps, such as: that Anette Stipp was awake before the first set of bangs and there were definitely only three, that they heard simultaneous voices, that the bathroom window was lit.  It would contradict the testimony of the expert (Vermeulen) who examined the door and concluded that the shots and cricket bat blows were all made by Pistorius without his prosthetic legs.  However he only said that it was uncomfortable to hit the door with the bat exactly on the marks when standing upright, not that it was impossible.  It also requires accepting that Reeva remained silently in the toilet, holding her phone, but did not either identify herself to Pistorius or call police as he was repeatedly instructing her to. 

The prosecution might present the case that the 3am bangs were the cricket bat hitting the door.  Various blog commentators have assumed this. But it would contradict the expert's testimony that the cricket bat hit the door after the shots. If Reeva were locked in the toilet at 3am already it would contradict the clarity and loudness of the screams. It might also contradict the fact that Anette Stipp saw dim light through the toilet window, which could indicate that the door to the bathroom was open.  (It could also be Reeva's cell phone, but would such a faint light be visible from far away?) It would also suggest a contradiction with the fact that Reeva was standing in front of the door when she was shot.  She might have been, but if she were terrified it would be more likely that she would take cover on or behind the toilet bowl.  Also, one of the blows from the cricket bat knocked a hole in the door so that one could wrench out a panel and reach in and unlock it, which is what Pistorius at some point actually did. So if he hit the door with the bat at 3am it seems unlikely that he would have shot through it at 3:17am.  This scenario does not seem convincing.

The prosecution could also assert that the sounds at 3am were unidentified bangs. Is it possible that Pistorius fired his gun out of the open window to the balcony, and then reloaded it? This may have been during a quarrel (viz. sounds heard by van der Merwe). Reeva began screaming; Pistorius shouted back at her and they quarrelled for several minutes; she ran into the toilet and locked the door for self-protection, and at 3:17 he shot four times through the door and killed her. He then shouted for help out the window and telephoned; he banged down the door (sounds unheard by neighbors) while waiting for help to arrive, then put on his prosthetic legs and carried Reeva downstairs.

This would contradict less testiomony: it would agree with the testimony that the screams were loud and unmuffled, that some dimmer light could be seen through the toilet window through the screaming (i.e. light from the bathroom, if the toilet door was open; the light in the toilet was apparently not working), and the testimony from the forensic pathologist that she was standing in front of the door facing it at the first shot, if she were actually locking it.

Maybe the defense will call other neighbors as witnesses and some further facts will be established.


Pistorius Trial: Witness Timelines 5 (A. Stipp)

Anette Stipp (married to Johan Stipp, direct view from 72 meters to Pistorius home)


Was lying awake in bed with the flu and a cough.
Leaned over her husband to look at bedside clock.
Saw 3:02am but clock was 3-4 minutes fast.
Suddenly heard three loud bangs, sat up on the edge of the bed.
Asked husband what they were, he said “gunshots”.
She did not doubt it as she had already heard gunshots in the past. 
She was fully alert and asserted that she could not have been sleeping through a previous shot.
She can see Pistorius' bathroom and toilet windows from her bed.
She can also see Pistorius' neighbor's house.
She saw bright lights in Pistorius' bathroom window.
It seemed to her that the left-hand pane of the triple slider was open.
She also saw light, albeit less bright, in the toilet window.
(Lawyer asserts bathroom light did not function.)
She saw that the whole top story of the neighbor's house was lit.
These lights stayed on all through the subsequent activity.
Barely moments after the three bangs, the screaming started.
It was a female voice (100% sure) and continuous, not separate secreams.
She got up and went to the small balcony that she can see out onto from her bed,
to see if she could tell where the screams were coming from. 
She heard a female voice screaming and screaming but with no words.
The screaming sounds were not muffled, but loud and clear. 
(Lawyer hints that this indicate the screams were coming through bathroom open window, not in locked toilet.)
After a few moments on the smaller balcony with her husband, they went through the room to a larger balcony.  
The screaming seemed to be coming nearer.
She thought maybe the woman was coming down the street.
She said to her husband "It must be a family murder".
He replied that then he should go and help as there might be children involved.
He went in and began calling security on the phone while pulling on clothes.
His first call to security was not answered.
(Lawyer claims that this is an error: it was answered.  Contradiction?)
He tried 10111 police number.
Then he called security again. 
During this time, Anette was talking to him, telling him what numbers to try.
The screaming was going on continuously.
After some minutes, she turned to go back into the bedroom.
As she was standing on the threshold she saw the time on the clock: 3:17am.
At this point she heard a man also screaming: two voices together.
She said "There's also a man screaming now."
Then she heard three more bangs in rapid succession.
She could not tell the difference between these sounds and the previous
sounds, also three in rapid succession.  
She and her husband thought they were all gunshots.
She has heard gunshots before.
Her husband told her to get inside because they didn't know where the shots were coming from.
She knows that the first sounds were only three bangs in the silence.
But for the second sounds, she says that she may have missed the first bang
because she was calling to her husband about phone numbers.
Once the man’s voice started, she heard both voices at different pitches at the same time.   
The woman’s screaming was continuous.

On Feb. 21 she was awoken by sound tests of loud arguments at 3am.   
Could not distinguish man or woman's voices, but said there was no sound of screaming like what she heard on Feb. 14. 
She thought it was a sound test (she was correct).
On March 18, 2014, she was awoken by the sound of a man screaming.
She said it sounded like a man's voice screaming at a higher pitch and a lower pitch.
She thought it was another sound test (she was again correct).
She again says it did not resemble what she heard at all. 
Man's voice, and separate, not continuous screams.
Lawyer suggests (but does not state) that a man and a woman screamed in the sound tests.
Witness seems very unconvinced.  Actual facts not stated.

On the morning of Feb. 14 she still didn’t know who it was.
She did know from her husband that a man had killed his girlfriend.  
She wrote on her morning chat group that the thing she would never forget was the screaming.   
Then her maid came in.  
The maid slept on the ground floor at the back of the house.
The maid said that she had heard crying, first thought it was a baby, then a woman.